12.30.2010

Honestly, I can't believe that 2011 is just a couple of days away. The last few months of this year seemed to crawl by as the hubby recuperated from his car accident and I wondered if life would ever get back to normal. But as things started to gain some semblance of normalcy, this year sped up and now it's virtually sprinting to the finish line.

As I looked back over 2010 at The Shabby Nest, there were a few projects that really jumped out as my favorites, and I wanted to share them all with you. (Just click on the project's title if you'd like to learn more about it.)

12.29.2010

I took the Princess to see Ballet West's version of the Nutcracker yesterday. Dance is one of my passions. I danced for many years (mostly jazz and modern with some ballet)...didn't exactly have the figure to become a professional...but I did work in marketing and PR for Ballet West for a few years before I had children.

The Princess inherited my passion for dance. She performed in the Nutcracker last year in Massachusetts. But I didn't find her a studio in time for her to audition this year. After last night, however, she's determined to try out next year. She wants to dance the part of a buffoon... she wants to do cartwheels across that big stage.

Last summer, before we moved back to Utah, we came out to visit for some family weddings. Because I had worked for the ballet, I was able to pull a few strings and get a private tour of the facilities for the Princess and her cousin. They actually got to stand on the stage in the Capitol Theatre. I think that did it. That's when she decided in earnest that she is going to be a ballerina when she grows up. And you know what? I hope she's right.

12.28.2010

A couple of weeks ago I posted about the fact that I needed to replace my living room rug. The rug we had was pretty with golds, browns and reds. But since I was going to have to replace it, I decided that I wanted to go with something more neutral because I really wanted to introduce some blues and greens to my palette instead of the warmer tones that I had been using.

RUG BEFORE

If you recall, I was set on using a jute or sisal-type rug. But, after asking the opinions of you, my lovely readers, I had many people suggest the idea of using indoor/outdoor carpet. To be honest, that is something I had never really considered. I had this vision in my head of indoor/outdoor being something along the lines of astroturf. I just didn't think it could be something I would want in my living room. I was also told by many people that sisal and jute have a difficult time standing up to traffic. Even though we have a family room, our living room sees quite a bit of traffic, and I didn't want to have to replace the rug quickly, so that also made me reconsider.

To make a long story short (really, Wendy, I didn't think you could do that...you might be thinking) after researching a bit, I was pleasantly surprised with the range of indoor/outdoor rugs I was able to find. But, then there was the budget constraint. The hubby and I were pooling the money we received from our parents for Christmas...but we still didn't have a huge budget for a new rug.

Enter Costco. Yes, Costco. While we were there one afternoon before Christmas, I happened to notice some area rugs. I walked casually over to the display thinking that there was absolutely no way that I was going to see what I was looking for. After all, I had been scouring the internet, home improvement stores, catalogs...all to no avail.

You can probably guess the rest of the story. There in the front of the display was one rug. The exact right size, the exact right color....AND the exact perfect price. I tried to be nonchalant about it...but I may have yelled the hubby's name across the crowded store as I flailed my arms back and forth in the air to get his attention two rows away. And he may have shot me one of those "are you crazy?" looks. But as he got closer and realized what I found, he was almost as excited as I was.

So we bought that baby. Loaded her up...and here she is. An indoor/outdoor (read that as easy clean-up), neutral-toned beauty. Can you say LOVE?

CARPET AFTER

Okay, so once we got the rug in the room, I felt an intense need to finally get a coffee table. We had been looking and looking on Craigslist and KSL.com (the local online want-ads) for weeks or possibly months with no luck. But that night, the hubby hopped online and found the PERFECT coffee table....again for the perfect price! (I mean it MUST have been fate!!)

So the very next day, while I was laid-up in bed with the worst stomach flu I think I've ever had...the hubby...with children in tow....went and bought the coffee table. And because it had a blue base (which was not the right color blue) he even refinished it for me...that very day...okay it really took two days, but the story sounds better if you think he did it all in one day. Ha!

And now our living room is almost complete. I plan on switching the sofa slipcover back to the white one, and placing my rehabbed console behind the sofa where it belongs while placing a dresser where the console is now. AND, of course, bringing in some blue and green...probably in the form of pillows and accessories. Oh, and accessorizing that pretty coffee table with something besides my decorating books. :-)

But what a difference the carpet and coffee table make!! Can we hear a collective "Woot Woot!"?

For now, I'm just going to sit here and enjoy the view! Have a great day~

12.27.2010

Normally, my obsessive-need-to-organize-everything-in-my-house-and-life phase hits about mid-January. But this year, it started about mid-December. I don't know if it's because 2010 was a very rough year in our family and I was just ready to cleanse our life... or exactly why it started early, but I have been on an organizational rampage for the past few weeks.

This is good, because I have already accomplished some of my New Year's goals and it isn't even the end of December...and because it is going to give me a lot of blog content for you all in the upcoming weeks, but also because I have started to feel the satisfaction of life-control that organization brings. Do you know what I mean? Or am I the only one who feels more competent and in control when things are in their places?

For example, I have already oganized my pantry cupboards. I have my new mudroom area 3/4 of the way finished. Here's a little sneaky-peek of the bench in it's almost-before state (I had actually started to prime it in this pic.) Wait until you see the after!

I have also almost completed the living room. I have gone through the kids rooms with them and organized. It's almost like a nesting phase...except that there are NO new little Hydes on the way. Let me repeat that...NO new little Hydes on the way. ;-)

Of course, there are lots of things still on the to-do list. There always are. Not the least of which are health-related. The hubby and I are entirely revamping our diet. With three little boys that have Alpha-1, and with the fact that we aren't getting any younger, we felt like it was high time that we took inventory of our food intake, and changed it for the better.

Are you still there? Bored yet?? Hope not.

Because along with all of the changes around our house and in our lives, I have been obsessing over the direction I want to take this here little old blog in the new year. Don't worry, it will still feel basically the same. After all, it is me....albeit a digital, edited version of me. ;-) But I have some fun ideas that I have been wanting to implement for a while, and I think that the new year is the perfect time for that. So look for a few FUN changes to be coming your way here on the blog. Things that will make it a little bit more me.

via Southern Living

Okay, if you actually read all of my rantings, you are a wonderfully loyal reader and you deserve a star on your forehead. If you just couldn't get through all of that, then you're not reading this sentence...but you are a wonderful reader too. ;-)

Coming your way tomorrow....my two Christmas presents....and how they changed my living room for the better. One of them rhymes with Bar Pet and the other rhymes with Toffee Mable...and I'm super excited to share them both...so y'all come back now, ya hear?

12.23.2010

I'm ready. No really, I'm ready. Okay, except the fact that I have to run to the grocery store and pick up a few salad fixins for Christmas Eve dinner. But all the gifts are wrapped. Those that need delivering are delivered. All the preparations are made. Now I can sit back and enjoy the last couple of days before Christmas.

We've had another run in with the stomach flu in our family this week. And it took me completely out of commission for 24 hours. 24 hours of down-time right before Christmas is SCARY if you're a type-A control freak like I am. But at least I was up and running in time to get everything ready. And, at least for the moment, everyone in my house is flu-free. (Knock on wood.)

So I'm going to enjoy some of this...

...pajama-clad littles reading favorite Christmas stories. We'll play a little Wii, watch some movies, snuggle and enjoy. This is such a magical moment in time...with a house full of wiggly little bodies who can hardly contain their excitement. I just want to soak it up, because they won't be this little forever.

Okay, so I haven't mastered the art of photographing in very low light. But I loved this scene in my living room last night, so I had to snap a pic. (And it shows -sort of- my two Christmas gifts...a new rug and coffee table...I'll tell you all about them later. I'm so excited!!)

And, in case you are in need of a last minute Christmas gift...check out these sweet little pillows I whipped up last night while sitting at my kitchen table and staring at the scene above. The downloadable graphics are found on one of my newly-discovered favorite blogs, Dear Lillie, right here. Just print them out in reverse on some photo transfer paper, iron them on your choice of fabrics and stitch up some pretty pillows.

12.22.2010

I mentioned in one of my previous posts that the kiddos have mini Christmas trees in each of their bedrooms, but it occurred to me that I hadn't actually posted any photos of them...so today I thought I'd share a couple.

The trees are nothing elaborate. Just inexpensive tinsel trees that I purchased at Target. But they are fun for the kids and that's what's important after all.

The little boys' tree is covered in red, white, and brown ornaments and it topped with a mini sock monkey to keep with the theme of the room.

The Princess' tree is white with pastel and jewel colored ornaments. My favorite ornaments on her tree are the mini cupcakes and icecream cones. So cute!

Mr. One, my tween, has a tree in his room as well, but we've had a run of cloudy days and the lighting in his room is terrible anyway, plus his tree is very similar to his brothers' so I thought I'd spare you all photos of it.

Also, I just had to share this fun product that I found while tracking down Christmas gifts earlier this month.

These are Crayola Window Markers. They work on all sorts of glass. They are so much fun! The kids had a lot of fun drawing on our deck doors, and they really are washable, so clean-up was a breeze.

I must admit, I had fun too...I even "decorated" the bathroom mirror for the holidays with the white marker. LOL! (But think what a fun idea this would be to wish someone a Happy Anniversary or Birthday or to tell them good luck before an important event. So many fun possibilities!)

A reminder that the Frugal Friday linky party will be pre-empted for the next couple of weeks due to the holidays, but will return at the beginning of January.

12.21.2010

For my Christmas Mantel I decided to try my hand at making some faux mercury glass. Now, let me preface this by saying that there are many tutorials on the old www that can tell you how to do this. This is just my version, which as usual, is the lazy person's version. But it was super (and I stress SUPER) easy!

What you will need:

1. Glass containers of any configuration. (I went and bought a bunch of candle/votive holders at the dollar store.)

2. A water spraybottle (filled with actual water...shocking, I know.)

3. Silver metallic spraypaint. (I have also read that using mirror spraypaint works well...and in reality I think it would probably be better...I just happened to have some silver spraypaint on hand...and that's how I roll...)

Instructions:

1. I decided to spraypaint both the inside and outsides of my containers, so I didn't need to prep them any special way. If you want to use them as candle h0lders, I would suggest taping off the inside of the jars so you won't get any paint inside. Heat + Paint = Trouble.

2. Spritz both the outside and inside of each jar with water. I set my spraybottle on mist so that the water droplets are small in size. (This is what creates the aged look.) Some of the water will pool on the inside of the jar. Don't worry about this.

3. Immediately spray the inside and outside of each wet jar with your metallic (or mirror) spraypaint. Go over each with two to three light coats of paint. Remember mercury glass is supposed to look aged and imperfect, so you aren't going for complete coverage here.

4. Let the jars dry completely. As the water dries it will leave droplet marks and streaks which add to the mercury glass illusion.

ENJOY!

For a super easy neighbor gift, take your faux mercury glass vessel and add a bag full of goodies to the inside. Super easy and festive!

Oh, and on a last note...due to the fact that both Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve fall on Fridays this year, there will be no Frugal Friday linky parties for the next two weeks. I'm pretty sure you all will be too busy to miss it. ;-) But never fear all you frugalistas, Frugal Friday will resume as usual the second week of 2011.

12.19.2010

December 10th found me celebrating the holiday season with a group of fabulous Utah bloggers at the Alice Lane Blogger Holiday Social! Adorable Kirsten Krason from 6th Street Design School was the brains behind the get together and the beautiful Alice Lane showroom in Orem, Utah was the location.

Image via 6th Street Design

It was so much fun to meet all of these uber-talented ladies and get to 'talk blog' with them...all the while filling up my design well with the beautiful furnishings and accessories at Alice Lane.

Michele Made Me shared a tutorial for these gorgeous Winter Wonderlanterns. So pretty! (and easier than they look, might I add...my kind of tutorial!

Now it's your turn to share your frugal ideas...

You know "da rules"....

1. Please link directly to your post and not just to your blog.2. Please link back to The Shabby Nest.3. Please leave comments for the authors of the posts your visit...help our participants feel the love!

I reserve the right to remove any posts that are not in keeping with the spirit ofFrugal Friday. This includes but may not be limited to those posts that link to your giveaway, your linky party or your shop. It also includes those posts that do not link back to The Shabby Nest. Posts that do not have anything to do with Frugal Decor, projects, or finds. Let's all play fair? mkay??